Archives for March 2015

New Delhi: AAP leader Yogendra Yadav on Monday said that he felt sad over false reports about him and Prashant Bhushan being unhappy with the happenings in the party, added this was a time to work with a large heart following their big win in Delhi.

“I feel sad and at the same time (feel like) laughing too after reading whatever is being said in the media about me and Prashant ji for the last two days… Delhi has given such huge mandate to AAP. I would appeal that we should not let the faith of people dwindle in the AAP,” Yadav said in a tweet Monday morning.

“Today it is the time to work for the country. The country has great expectation from us (AAP),” Yadav added.

Reflecting his discontent about the functioning of the Aam Aadmi Party, senior leader Prashant Bhushan has written a letter raising questions about some decisions of party convenor Arvind Kejriwal who is now chief minister of Delhi.

In the letter, apparently written to members of party’s national executive, Bhushan has raised questions about the party running a “person-centric” campaign in Delhi polls and not following some of its professed principles.

Chennai: After a gap of over 10 years, veteran cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya was on Monday made an uncontested comeback as full-time president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during its annual general meeting (AGM) here.

The former International Cricket Council (ICC) president, whose previous tenure as BCCI chief ended in 2004, was a ‘neutral’ candidate from both the factions in the board. While one camp is led by the sidelined board president N. Srinivasan, the other camp is led by Maharashtra strongman and former ICC boss Sharad Pawar.

Apart from the 74-year-old Dalmiya, the other new entrant is Haryana’s Anirudh Choudhary who has been appointed the new treasurer while Himachal Pradesh’s Anurag Thakur was named the board secretary.

Anurag, a nominee from the Pawar faction, won the secretary post by one vote. His opponent was Baroda’s Sanjay Patel, favoured by Srinivasan.

Anirudh, belonging to Srinivasan camp, defeated Uttar Pradesh’s Rajeev Shukla, a former BCCI vice-president, for the post of treasurer.

As per BCCI rules, it was the turn of the east zone associations this year to nominate candidates for the elections.

Dalmiya’s elevation to the position was necessitated by Srinivasan after the latter was forced to stay away from the election owing to a Supreme Court directive. Srinivasan was barred by the Supreme Court from contesting the election following the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot fixing scam. He is a nominee of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).

The court is currently hearing the IPL spot-fixing scandal in which conflict of interest with regards to Srinivasan’s position as the BCCI president and owner of the IPL team Chennai Super Kings has come in for sharp criticism from the court.

Former ICC chief Pawar, who was BCCI president from 2005-2008, was also eyeing the post, but had to backtrack after failing to find a proposer and seconder from the east zone.

New Delhi: Crisis deepened in AAP with senior leader Prashant Bhushan accusing the party of running a “one person-centric” campaign revolving around Arvind Kejriwal during the Delhi elections contrary to its principles.

Bhushan said the ‘one person-centric’ campaign was making the party look like other conventional parties and called for more “swaraj” within the organisation.

“…one person-centric campaign, which was run during Delhi elections, is making our party look more and more like other conventional parties that are also one- person centric. The only difference being that we still claim that we are wedded to the principles of ‘swaraj’ while they don’t.

“Running one person-centric campaign may be effective, but does that justify sacrificing our principles? We will need to make a conscious course correction if we have to get away from a supremo controlled party,” Bhushan said in a letter to members of AAP National Executive, which met last Thursday.

Serious differences appeared to have cropped up within AAP, including over Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s role in the party, with internal Lokpal Admiral Ramdas pointing to two camps emerging within top leadership and asking the party to consider ‘one-man, one-post’ arrangement.

Bhushan also accused Kejriwal of not giving more autonomy to the states to take their decision on contesting elections.

Bhushan and another AAP leader Yogendra Yadav wanted the party to contest the Haryana state elections, but another section led by Kejriwal was against it.

“Swaraj means decentralised decision making. On those principles it is the state unit who have to decide whether we should contest elections in the state. But we are deciding for them and ordering them not to contest elections.

“Even the National Executive had decided when to allow the states and when to contest elections but that decision was frustrated by Kejriwal by not allowing the states to contest elections. We made mockery of the principles of democracy and swaraj,” Bhushan said.

Bhushan also sought transparency in the way funds are spent which, he claimed, is currently being done in an “arbitrary” manner. “The party now receives considerable donations. There is, however, no systematic planning on how these funds are to be spend. We do not have any empowered committee or decision making system of deciding on how the funds are to be spent,” he said.

“With the result that such decisions are being made in an arbitrary manner by a few people who are not authorised by the National Executive to take such decisions. There are some volunteers who are paid by the party, but a vast majority of them are not… Even these decisions need to be taken in a systematic and democratic manner,” Bhushan said.

Bhushan also slammed the party over its “lack of transparency”. He said while the party criticises BJP and Congress, it has not put up its expenditure on website.

“Our party was founded on the principle of transparency and accountability which is embedded in the vision document of the party. We had claimed that parties should come under RTI Act and berated BJP and Congress for flouting the information Commission directive to them to come under RTI.

“We said, we will put all our accounts on public website. But what is the reality today. Far from bringing the party under RTI, we don’t even have our accounts on the website. We have put our donations but not expenses. We don’t even put decision of our constitutional bodies like National Executive, or the PAC on the website, what to say of the minutes,” he said.

“In fact, as far as I am aware, even decision of PAC or NE meetings are not maintained what to say of making them transparent,” the letter said.

In a joint letter to National Executive members, Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav is believed to have highlighted contentious issues like expanding the PAC.

Referring to the controversy where AAP MLA from Uttam Nagar Naresh Balyan was booked after illegal liqour was allegedly seized from his residence, the two leaders demanded thorough investigation by the party into this case.

They also demanded “activation” of the discipline and grievance committee.

Mangaluru: Calling upon the Hindus to be united and fight for the cause of Hindu Rashtra, Sadhwi Balika Saraswati said that it should be everyone’s priority to protect the interest of the Hindu nation.

She was delivering the keynote address that the Vishwa Virat Hindu Samajotsav organized as part of the golden jubilee celebration of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad at Nehru Maidan in the city on Sunday evening.

The young Sadhwi, who did not allow the saffron brigade to feel the absence of VHP supremo Praveen Togadia on the stage of Samajotsav, made several indirect attempts to compare Indian Muslims with Pakistanis throughout her Desi accent Hindi speech.

Spurred by the positive response of the thrilled crowd, the firebrand speaker exhorted the Hindus to take an oath to re-establish the Hindu Rashtra in India and protect their ‘nation’, ‘religion’ and ‘women’ from ‘enemies’.

Lashing out at AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, she said that the former lacks the guts to speak in front of Hindus. Recalling the controversial statements of Owaisi brothers, she said that they are the enemies of the nation.

“He (Owaisi) is still alive in this country because he took the name of Ramji or else it would be difficult to recognize him even with an autopsy,” she said.

The Sadhwi went on to claim that ‘such people’ live in India but praise and support Pakistan. “They must be stoned and deported to Pakistan,” she said.

Not only Akbaruddin Owaisi, but the whole Pakistan cannot stop us from building Ram Mandir. “He should remember that Hindus can build Ram Mandir even in Islamabad,” she said.

She said that laws apply only for Hindus. “In Kerala and Assam, I have seen people performing Namaz five times a day on roads against law. They don’t follow the order of the Supreme Court.

They get subsidy for Haj pilgrimage, but we get nothing for Amarnath Yatra. Ghar Wapsi is being depicted as a big crime in media, but one can understand the pain only when our girls get converted into other religion overnight. Conversion is still going on in Jharkhand and many other states.”

She opined that the community can stop cow slaughtering by not selling cows and treating them as mother. Every woman should take care of at least one cow to stop cow slaughtering in the nation.

Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade said that Vishwa Hindu Parishad played a major role in uniting Hindu society in the past 50 years. It organised several activities for the financial and religious equality of people. Meanwhile, Heggade opined that Samajotsava was not just a celebration, but a forum to decide the future. The rituals and culture of the community should be developed.

The Mangaluru police have admitted that Balika Saraswati, the main speaker at Virat Hindu Samajotsav held at Nehru Maidan in the city, made apparent attempts to communally provoke the mob through her speech.

The police are thinking of filing a case, he added. “The speech is indeed provocative. We are considering action,” Mr. Murugan said. The police have also taken note of the organisers extending the programme beyond 5.30 p.m., the allotted time of closure, he said.

Ashmit Patel happens to be a cool and chilled out dude. He is an unassuming guy who is sensible enough to take, everything in his stride, with a pinch of salt. Yes! Even the ups and downs, more downs than ups, in his professional career as well as his personal life. Yet what makes him most happy is the fact that he goes to bed and even wakes up from it with a contented smile on his countenance. In his decade long checkered and illustrious career he may have done films that can be counted on his own fingertips, but he has no regrets whatsoever as he firmly and strongly feel and believe that his “Best” is yet to come. From his debut film ‘Inteha’ to his, this year’s release, ‘Jai Ho’ he has had an interestingly impressive line up of movies. And now he is ready to spring a surprise with a cop’s role in a Horror flick named ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’, whose impending release is just round the corner.

To set the ball rolling in your court how would you describe your film journey till this date?

I would say that it was interesting enough. No doubt I too had my own ups and downs, in my case more downs than ups. But at the end of the day I feel blessed that with every night’s fall, I go to bed with a smile on my face and then again with the rise of the day I wake up, again with a smile on my face. Yet I have no regrets whatsoever as I firmly and strongly feel and believe that my “Best” is yet to come. That apart I am also aware that every actor cannot be an Aamir Khan, a Salman Khan or even a Shahrukh Khan.

Your upcoming film is ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. So tell us what is it all about?

It happens to be the story of a girl who goes to Coorg to surprise her fiance. Out there she is put up in Home Stay, which is like a rented service apartment, a kind of guest house for a paying guest. In a span of 24 hours, varied spooky incidents take place including a murder.

What kind of character are you enacting in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’?

I am enacting the role of a cop. My 1st uniformed role. I had earlier played the role of a cop in ‘Nazar’, but I was a plain clothes CID officer. So I am happy that I have finally got my share of a cop’s Stars and Stripes including a cop’s uniform in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. And believe me it feels great to be attired in a cop’s uniform. Anyways coming to the cop’s role, he is very forthright and well respected. He does not mince words and puts everyone at ease by giving a good reasoning in a logical manner, especially the way he handles the members of the fourth estate during a murder investigation.

How was the experience of shooting in Coorg with Sayali Bhagat & débutante director Santosh Kodenkeri?

Must say it was great fun. We used to shoot for half a day, in spite of the film being shot in the trilingual language of Hindi, Kannada and Tamil, and the rest of the day used to be spent in exploring every nook and corner of Coorg. And then it used to be party time at night. As for Sayali Bhagat I hardly knew her except for meeting her socially 2 or 3 times but once we met on the sets we developed a good rapport. And as this was the 1st film of my director Santosh Kodenkeri, I found him to be very humble and down to earth and it was great fun working with him. I must make a special mention of Ravi Kale who is playing a negative role in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. He is just fantastically fabulous.

What according to you are the highlights of ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’?

I think it is the script, the thrills, the technically sound background score and of course this movie can be rated highest on the performance level of all the artistes including me.

So what’s up next on your professional front?

There are a couple of projects on the anvil but as of now I am very high on a particularly new project, a high octane action drama, for which nowadays I am sporting a heavily bearded look. I can’t reveal anything more about it, no not even the title, because of the strict non-disclosure condition of the contract. Period!

England slipped to a third crushing defeat in four World Cup games as Sri Lanka comfortably chased 310 to win by nine wickets in Wellington.

Lahiru Thirimanne hit an unbeaten 139 and Kumar Sangakkara 117 not out to seal victory with 16 balls to spare.

Earlier, Joe Root made 121 as England accelerated late on to post 309-6.

If opening defeats by Australia and New Zealand and victory over Scotland were expected, then this fixture was supposed to be the best indicator of England’s chances of progressing far into the World Cup.

As it turned out, a third one-sided reverse at the hands of Test opposition leaves England clinging to their hopes of reaching the last eight.

But Sri Lanka showed that to be nowhere near enough and England will almost certainly be eliminated if they lose either of their final two games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Indeed, if Bangladesh beat Scotland on Thursday, then England will go out if they lose either of their remaining group games.

While their previous game in Wellington, an eight-wicket thrashing by New Zealand, was humiliating for its rapid nature, this latest loss was perhaps more dispiriting.

England put in their best batting display of the tournament thanks to Root’s accumulation and creativity and Jos Buttler’s late power.

But Thirimanne and Sangakkara made a mockery of the chase as England’s pace-dominated attack struggled to make chances on a sluggish wicket.

When they did create opportunities, they were not taken. Thirimanne was dropped on three by Root at slip, although the edge off Stuart Broad should have been claimed by wicketkeeper Buttler.

The left-hander also had a let-off on 98, Moeen Ali failing to take a low chance in the covers off James Anderson.

After that, Thirimanne, whose innings was laced with classy cover drives, became the fourth Sri Lanka batsman to score a hundred in this World Cup.

On the completion of the chase, Sri Lanka – 10-wicket winners against England in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup – became only the second team to overhaul a score of 300 or more with nine wickets in hand.

It also cemented England’s unwanted record of being the least successful of all the Test nations when defending a target in excess of 300.

That Eoin Morgan’s side posted their highest total of the tournament came as a result of 24-year-old Root becoming the youngest England batsman to score a World Cup century.

Given a good start by Ian Bell’s 49, England were pegged back as Sri Lanka’s attack improved by taking pace off the ball, Tillakaratne Dilshan having Gary Ballance caught and bowled to extend the left-hander’s poor sequence to only 36 runs in four innings.

At 101-3 in the 21st over, Root arrived to stabilise the innings with Morgan, with the Yorkshire batsman – dropped on two at slip – then dominating a stand of 98 with James Taylor.

Strong square of the wicket, Root reached a fourth ODI hundred at a run a ball, then accelerated by inventively reverse-sweeping the seamers.

After Root fell, England were pushed past 300 by Buttler. Their total seemed competitive, Thirimanne and Sangakkara proved that it was not.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Pakistan were rocking at 1-1 and 4-2 as Tendai Chatara claimed the wickets of openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad.

But skipper Misbah played a vital innings, steadying the ship as wickets regularly fell around him – including two in one over when Williams dismissed Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi in the space of three balls. Afridi, celebrating his 35th birthday, went for a duck.

Only a late flurry from Riaz – his 54 coming from 55 balls – injected some urgency into the Pakistan innings and gave them a meaningful total to defend.

Zimbabwe lost Sikander Raza and Chamu Chibhabha cheaply – Irfan taking both – but Taylor’s half-century and Sean Williams’ 33 from 32 balls took them to 128-3 and appeared to put them on course for victory.

However, Riaz repeated his batting heroics with the ball, sharing eight wickets with fellow left-arm paceman Irfan as Zimbabwe crumbled.

Injured captain Elton Chigumbura, who was helped off the field with a suspected quadricep tear while fielding, tried valiantly to steer Zimbabwe to victory but was last man out for a run-a-ball 35.

“It is always disappointing to lose a game like this when you feel you have a chance to win,” said Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura.

“Our weakness has been that we have not had one guy scoring a hundred or batting through the innings.”

While Zimbabwe will be frustrated not to have registered only a fourth ODI win over Pakistan, Misbah’s team now head into their next Pool B game against the United Arab Emirates on 4 March with renewed hope of making the last eight.